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WordCamping it in Chicago

Day one was amazing! I had high hopes before arriving in Chicago, but WCC ’09 has truly blown me away. The organizers did an amazing job on selecting speakers who appealed to all the developers, bloggers and designers in the room.

After the conclusion of day one, there was an official WCC meetup at Morton’s Steakhouse, supposedly one of the best if not the best steak house in the city. After trying some of Matt Mullenweg’s steak, I would have to agree, the steak was so tender and fell right off the bone, but it was the gourmet mac and cheese that did it for me. I have a rule that if macaroni and cheese is offered on a restaurant menu, I must give it a try. I’m a little obsessive about finding great mac and cheese.

Matt Mullenweg surrounded by the WordPress fans

After meeting some new people from the Chicago area, it was time to go back to the W Hotel for some zzz’s.

W Hotel Lobby

W Hotel Lounge

The Lobby Bar

My hotel room

Cool quote on the wall

Day Two

The second day was equally fantastic. Unfortunately I missed Jim Turner‘s presentation on Business Blogging but saw Matt’s State of the Word address. A few new announcements were made about MU, BuddyPress and iPhone apps.

Matt giving his State of the Word Speech

After the conference wrapped, I had a few hours to kill so I took a tour around the city and found myself in Nordstrom’s for their annual shoe sale and Macy’s where I couldn’t resist the urge to pick up a few Ben Sherman pieces. So much for travelling on a budget.

Chicago Skyline

Shortly thereafter, it was time to head back to the Midway Airport for my Porter flight back to T.O.. I must say, it was my first time flying with them and it was such a delight. It was such a stress-free flying experience and I highly recommend it.

That’s all I have to say about WordCamp Chicago ’09 for now. I had an amazing time, made some new friends, become better friends with some acquaintances and the weekend has made me more excited about planning another future WordCamp Toronto!